IN BETWEEN
by L0LITA
Summary: Anastasia grew up in a time in between Voldemort's disappearance, and Harry Potter's entrance into the wizarding world. At age ten her parents were murdered, and she became the ward of Albus Dumbledore.


Anastasia Crestfala was born to one of the wealthiest and oldest pureblood wizarding families. She grew up in the Crestfala estate which was extraordinarily large and ornate. Unfortunately the estate was also quite dark and very gloomy. In the fifteenth century, three witches from a rivaling pureblood family cursed the estate so that it almost continually rained. Anastasia was practically raised by numerous house elves, mainly Minnie, and the varying tutors that came and went. She rarely ever saw her parents and when she did it was for very brief periods of time. Many would say that despite her riches, she had lived a terrible and lonely life. She would disagree. She loved Crestfala estate with all its shadowy nooks and crannies. She loved the huge library in which she read and hid from Minnie in. She loved the rain that was almost constantly pouring, and the sound it made against the roof. While the rest of the wizarding world had been fighting against or for Voldemort. Anastasia had been living an essentially solitary life cooped up inside a lovely old castle. And she loved it. The result of such an upbringing was a little girl that was unusually quiet, extremely intelligent, and, though knowledgeable of it through books, hesitant to interact with the world. Not only was Anastasia different from other children in personality and character, she was also different in looks. She was beautiful. Because she rarely came in contact with the outside world, she did not develop the arrogance or vanity that often comes with beauty. Her apparent lack of care or knowledge about her looks gave her an even more unearthly and beautiful appearance. She was ghostly striking. Her dark raven hair that was softly curled hung to her waist had never been cut. She had large almond shaped eyes that were dark brown to the point they almost looked black. Due to her lack of exposure to sun , she had porcelain skin. Indeed, her manner was so graceful and her look so fairylike, the few that had seen her had to look twice in order to determine if she was truly a human. Despite her lack of physical involvement in the war, it had irrevocably changed her life. At the tender age of ten, she was orphaned and became the last of the long line of Crestfalas. She had only two living relations that were no dead, on trial for being a death eater or already locked up in Azkaban. Those relatives were her fourth cousins six times removed; Albus and Alberforth Dumbledore.

" Are you sure this is wise Albus? Is there no other option? Surely it can't be legal." huffed a confused Minerva McGonagall as she paced in front of the headmaster's desk, " Having a spoiled ten year old little girl bouncing constantly through the castle. Klaudius and Marguerite Crestfala's child no less! Have you lost your mind? Those two alone killed or tortured half the order! Why can she not be sent to an orphanage?"

Albus chuckled as the flustered professor's rant came to an end which only served to further aggravate the witch.

" Really, Minerva, do you think I have not thought this through?" he motioned for her to sit as he continued, " Ordinarily, she would have been sent to an orphanage. However, her parents have deprived her of the of that option."

"Surely those death eater's did not spend all of the Crestfala fortune? They were some of the richest -", Minerva interrupted.

" No of course not. " the headmaster cut her off ," It seems as though Klaudius has kept and even grown that vast fortune. The issue is not money. No, no, it is much more complicated than that. The general wizarding populous holds no love for the Crestfalas. Indeed, there are many that hate even their memory. What most do not know is that Voldemort followers hold absolutely no love for them either. " Albus held up a hand to cut off her exclamation, "They betrayed him Minerva. And in the end, that is what cost them their lives. I will not go into the details, but in the end they changed. The result of their decisions have left an innocent little girl, who is guilty of nothing except for being born into the Crestfala family, hated by both sides. To place her in an unguarded orphanage so soon after the war would not be... wise, to say the least."

Minerva, who by this time had sufficiently calmed down, looked slightly ashamed as she simply stated. " I see."

Albus nodded understandingly before adding, " The point of me asking you to my office today was simply to ask a favor of you. With the reopening of Hogwarts in January, I will be quite busy. I know it is asking a lot, but would you mind making sure her chambers are prepared and helping her to get acclimated when she arrives in a week? I would be forever indebted to you."

The witch agreed curtly before asking, "Where will she be staying ? And I hope you have someone to watch over her. While I do not mind showing her around the castle, I will not babysit a spoiled child all day. I haven't the time."

" One of the Crestfala's house elves will be joining the Hogwarts kitchen and making sure she keeps out of trouble. I of course will also be keeping a sharp eye on her as my ward. She will live in one of the vacant teacher chambers. I know nothing of her demeanor. We can only hope she is well behaved, but with the Crestfala's who knows?" Albus sighed and continued, " During the day she will either spend her time in the kitchen or library. Goodness knows Hogwarts has enough to entertain a child. She will also have a classroom pass. As my ward, all of the teacher's will be expected to keep an eye on her. Besides, she will be attending Hogwarts as a student in the fall."

Minerva doubtfully shook her head, " I really hope you have made the right decision Albus. "

Anastasia rarely ever cried. For a child, she masked her emotions unusually well. But, when she was told by Leonard Schwartz, the wizard that handled the Crestfala's estate, that she would be leaving her home, one single tear dropped down her cheek.

" Oh come child, you will be moving to Hogwarts." the rather large man consoled when he saw the tear, "There will be plenty of other children and fun at Hogwarts. Much more than this damp gloomy castle!"

On hearing his derogatory tone regarding her home , Anastasia jerked her head up and coolly observed him before replying in an even tone,

" Thank you, sir, for your words of comfort. I will be ready when you come for me tomorrow." she paused, "Until then I would not have you stay in this dark and damp castle any longer. Goodbye, sir."

Missing the sarcasm laced in the words she had spoken due to her naturally soft and melodic tone of voice, the wizard smiled and nodded," Quite right my dear! How thoughtful you are! ". With those final words, he apparated away.

Once he had left, Anastasia remained seated in the dark green plush chair and stared blankly at the gray wall in the parlor. One more tear rolled down her cheek before she abruptly stood from her seat and walked across the castle to her room.

Ana looked back at her beloved home one more time before grabbing the port key and leaving the estate for the first time in ten years. Her stomach felt like it was being ripped out as they whirled through the sky. With a giant 'plop' she landed in a bunch of grass. She stood up and brushed herself off before looking around at her surroundings. The first thing she noted, with some wariness, was how sunny everything was. The castle was nice enough, she thought, but nothing to her home. She mentally rolled her eyes at Leonard Schwartz's attempt to stand after he had fallen rather uncerimoniously onto the grass.

"Well," he heaved, "that was some trip! Now, I am sorry child, but I must leave you here. Lots of work to finish up you see. Just walk through the gates." at her confused look he added, " You are to ask for Professor McGonagall. Off you go!"

She turned her back to the bumbling older wizard who promptly apparated away and made the short walk to the gates. Hesitantly she walked through the empty courtyard and past the large wooden doors into the castle. She rather liked the inside of the castle hall. The large stone walls and tapestries reminded her of the home that she had dearly loved. The fact that she was currently alone in the huge castle did not even faze her, she liked it that way. All of the sudden the sound of footsteps alerted her to someone approaching her.

An older witch with a stiff back and firm brow strode through one of the doors at the end of the hall. The witch seemed to be looking for something. As usual, Ana thought the best plan of action was to remain silent. When the older witch did see Anastasia, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open a little bit, an action which struck Ana as being slightly rude. The witch strode her way across the hall until she was closer to Ana, who was silently observing the woman. They both stood about five feet from the other. For some reason or another the professor seemed shocked and remained silent. Anastasia's emotions on the other hand were carefully hidden. The only noise to be heard for a good ten long seconds was the ticking of the clock.

Raising one eyebrow slightly at the seemingly mute older witch, Anastasia asked in her normal melodic tone, " Hello Ma'am. My name is Anastasia Crestfala. I am Professor Dumbledore's new ward..."The older witch remained silent and Anastasia continued, "I was told to ask for a Professor McGonagall. Do you perhaps know where I could find that professor?"

As if she had shaken herself out of a stupor, the witch realized that she had not said anything she replied briskly, " Hello child, you must excuse my poor manners. I was just not expecting... Oh, never mind. I am Professor McGonagall, I teach transfigurations here at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore is very busy right now, so he asked me to show you around." she motioned the child to follow her before continuing," Right now, it is dinner time. After dinner, I will show you to your new chambers."

Professor McGonagall led her through another door into a large room. In the room there were three very long empty tables. At the head of the tables was another long table. This table was not empty. Every other seat or so an older witch or wizard sat enjoying dinner. Ana assumed they were teachers and looked curiously at the large wooden seat in the middle. She wondered if that was where the headmaster sat. What amazed Ana about the room was the ceiling. It was charmed to look like the night sky, and she found it oddly comforting. Professor McGonagall led Ana until she was standing in front of the head table.

"Eh-um", McGonagall cleared her throat and all of the older witches and wizards looked up from their meals and began to stare curiously at Anastasia who was beginning to wonder if staring was acceptable at Hogwarts, "My fellow professors, as many of you know, Professor Dumbledore has a new ward. I would like to introduce you to Ms. Anastasia Crestfala. She will staying at Hogwarts from now on. I trust that each of you will introduce yourself to her in time and treat her with every respect." lowering her voice she then addressed Anastasia a lower voice, " Go and sit beside the large wooden chair, child. That will be your seat at meals from now on."

Hesitantly, Anastasia walked the length of the table, and feeling the stares of the older witches and wizards on her she decided to keep her eyes down. When she reached the chair Professor McGonagall had indicated for her to sit in, she climbed up into it and observed the trays of food in front of her. Professor McGonagall, who by this time had also taken a seat at the head table , was scrutinizing the girl's actions. If she had been alone, she would have been tempted to grab a sweet roll and not eat the vegetables. However, still sensing Professor McGonagall watching her, she served herself from fresh fruit, vegetables, ham, and milk. She then made eye contact with McGonagall, who blushed at being found staring, and gave the professor the smallest of smirks before returning her attention back to her food. While she ate, she watched the other teachers. There was a middle age witch who wore disheveled robes with rather fluffy hair and large spectacles on. She had an altogether floaty manner of moving which struck Anastasia as odd. There was a very short wizard who she assumed must be one of the goblins she had read so much about. The only other professor that was not non-descript was a young man. She assumed he must have recently graduated because he looked no older than twenty-five at most. His dark robes and black hair made him appear like a bat. What struck her most about this wizard was his the sorrowful look that never left his eyes. He also seemed to be slightly ostracized from the other professors.

'Oh well,' thought Anastasia, ' maybe he is like me. Maybe he just doesn't care to chat'.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the goblin teacher, who promptly introduced himself before exiting the dining hall. Many other teachers followed his lead. Eventually, Professor McGonagall finished eating and asked to show Ana to her chambers.

Ana was led through the castle that she was beginning to like. McGonagall pointed out the library, classrooms, and many other areas before leading her up a tower.

"Normally, only teachers would stay in this section of the castle. " McGonagall informed, " But, since this will be your home until you come of age, you will have your own chambers. However, when you do become a student, you will live in the dorms while not on holidays."

Eventually, they reached a door which the older witch motioned for Anastasia to go into.

Although they were not as fine as her past chambers, she liked them. There was a queen sized bed in the middle of the room. There was also a little living area in front of a large stone fireplace and a desk to the right of the bed.

Anastasia continued to examine the room, noting with pleasure that Minnie had already unpacked her trunks, before turning to the witch that stood in the middle of the door and speaking for the second time that night.

"Thank you, professor. These chambers will do quite well. I will call Minnie to help me prepare for bed." she paused before continuing, "Goodnight, ma'am."

Intensely aware that she had essentially been dismissed by a ten year old, Minerva's eyes widened before telling the girl goodnight.

"Well I never!" muttered the professor softly under her breath as she made her way back through the castle.


End file.
